Roll tape. Two women behind a cluttered counter smile into the camera, a range of designer outfits framing the wall behind them. They talk of a dream to open a business, a love for their corner of Washington, D.C.
Cut to individual glimpses of two men, one laughing as he sits on an orange leather...

Q: What does it take for a quick-service brand to become a great brand?
A: I get this question all the time. Many people look at superstar brands like Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Nike and mistakenly conclude those companies achieved their successes as a result of good timing, great advertising,...

Amid the glitz and glam of Hollywood’s boutiques and TV studios, Collier Ulrich’s upstart eatery, Marcona, is making a name for itself with turkey and ham. The New York native’s almost-two-year-old gourmet sandwich shop serves up classic East Coast deli fare enhanced by Mediterranean influences and...

It's no surprise that children love to eat at quick-serve restaurants. But a recent survey by Chicago–based research firm Y-Pulse shows that, beyond a noticeable increase in their favorability ratings for such establishments in the last few years, kids also have higher expectations for the industry...

Consumer demand for more convenient, healthier foods has affected the quick-service industry for the last several years. Now the trend might be helping to create a new competitor for traditional quick-serve brands: hotels.
Hotel food offerings were once minimal, unhealthy, or expensive, sending...

Stop a local in the Chicago area, inquire about the closest Portillo’s restaurant, and you’re almost certain to get directions to the Chicago-based chain’s nearest location (alongside some ordering suggestions). With its signature Vienna beef hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches, Portillo’s is a...

Building a reliable workforce is essential to success in the quick-serve business, as is connecting with the local community through socially conscious means.
At least one franchisee is killing those two birds with one stone by integrating his hiring process with his charitable work. A Wisconsin-...

In the fast-food breakfast world, the carrier has long been king. From McMuffins to Croissan’wiches, burritos to breakfast wraps, flatbreads to breakfast paninis, and now—thank you, Dunkin’ Donuts—even breakfast sandwiches served on a glazed doughnut, fast-food chains have dedicated an inordinate...

Magic sort of loses its luster with age. Rarely does one find the right occasion to use the term magical as an adult—after a first date, perhaps, or to describe an experience at a concert or a vacation. There is one place, though, where—by design—the magic never seems to die. Walt...

Quick-service operators looking for external financial support often find an attractive option in private equity firms. But finding the right partner takes effort, research, and a little bit of soul searching.

Colleagues and industry contacts are good places to start when considering...

It was another late night last fall at the LivingSocial office in Washington, D.C., and Alan Clifford and Ian Costello were hungry. As vice presidents of customer relationship management and product development, respectively, the two were often burning the midnight oil and coming upon the same...

Having spent three decades helping franchisees evaluate prospective investments, Terry Powell has noticed a monumental shift in the industry. The days of franchisees signing on the dotted line with little more than a review of the royalties, franchise fee, and total investment have largely...

Perhaps best known for cofounding America Online (AOL) and later serving as its CEO, Steve Case has now turned his attention to foodservice. Like many tech innovators, he sees great potential to “disrupt” the system through technology and a tech mindset.

As most of the food industry knows, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced an extension to the rule released last year requiring that restaurant chains and retailers provide customers with calorie counts on available food and beverages by December 1, 2015.Now restaurants have an e

Q: Should our restaurant offer delivery service?A: These days, everyone seems to be doing delivery, right? Starbucks, Chipotle, McDonald’s, and Taco Bell are some of the big chains that have recently announced tests or rollouts of delivery service.

The minimum wage is on the mind of most quick-service operators today, especially as many states and cities pass regulations that bump the minimum wage upward.But when Moo Cluck Moo founder Brian Parker and his team first sat down to discuss employee pay, he says, the minimum wage wasn’t even